A Little History on Geothermal and Heat Pumps

• 1852—Lord Kelvin develops the theory for heat pumps.
• 1940’s—Robert C. Webber installs first residential system after experimenting with a deep freezer.
  Professor Carl Nielsen of Ohio State University develops the first ground-source heat pump, for use at his residence.
  J.D. Krocker, an engineer in Portland, Oregon, pioneers the first commercial building-use of a groundwater heat pump.
• 1970’s—People begin seriously looking for energy alternatives during the Oil Embargo.
  Dr. Jim Bose puts the math behind the technology to make it more readily usable in the U.S.
• 1987—International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) forms.

What is a Heat Pump?

It’s essentially a refrigerator, and works off of the vapor-compression cycle.